Species guide · Florida

King mackerel fishing in Florida

Scomberomorus cavalla, a pelagic species also called kingfish, king and smoker kingfish. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys, Eastern Gulf and South Atlantic regions. Off season, about 1 more week.

Right now it scores best in Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm at 69, one of 31 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Off season

Where it's scoring now All Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Florida and the Keys

Off season, about 1 more week

Jan: Peak season
Feb: Peak season
Mar: Peak season
Apr: Shoulder season
May: Shoulder season
Jun: Off season
Jul: Off season
Aug: Off season
Sep: Off season
Oct: Shoulder season
Nov: Peak season
Dec: Peak season

Peak: Nov to Mar. In season (shoulder or peak): Oct to May.

Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region

Winter grounds for both the Gulf and Atlantic groups. Kings gather off the Keys and Southeast Florida from November through March.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Eastern Gulf

Shoulder season, about 1 more week

Jan: Off season
Feb: Off season
Mar: Off season
Apr: Shoulder season
May: Peak season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Shoulder season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Shoulder season
Dec: Off season

Peak: May, Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): Apr to Nov.

Research notes, Eastern Gulf region

Spring run passes Tampa Bay and the Big Bend in April-May on the way to the Panhandle; the fall run comes back south in October-November. Winter fish are mostly south of Naples.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

South Atlantic

Peak season, about 6 more weeks

Jan: Off season
Feb: Off season
Mar: Off season
Apr: Shoulder season
May: Peak season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Peak season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Shoulder season
Dec: Off season

Peak: May, Sep to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): Apr to Nov.

Research notes, South Atlantic region

Spring fish reach Northeast Florida and Georgia in April-May; North Carolina beaches, piers and inlet mouths peak in late summer and fall. Winter fish hold near the shelf edge just inside the Gulf Stream (NCDMF).

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 31

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's king mackerel score this hour.

69Great

Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

Best window today 8-9 PM (69) · Best day Sat, Sep 19 at 8 PM (75) · 21 named spots

67Great

Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 6 PM (74) · 4 named spots

67Great

Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 8-11 PM (67) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 PM (75) · 88 named spots

67Great

Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 8-11 PM (67) · Best day Sat, Sep 19 at 7 AM (71) · 92 named spots

64Good

Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Sat, Sep 19 at 8 PM (77) · 22 named spots

58Good

Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm

Best window today 8-10 PM (58) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 1 PM (65) · 39 named spots

58Good

Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM

Best window today 8-10 PM (58) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 AM (63) · 24 named spots

57Good

Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound

Best window today 7-9 PM (57) · Best day Wed, Sep 30 at 5 PM (63) · 46 named spots

55Good

Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

Best window today 8-10 PM (55) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 9 AM (64) · 126 named spots

54Good

St. Andrews Bay Waterways

Best window today 7-9 PM (54) · Best day Tue, Sep 29 at 7 AM (61) · 79 named spots

54Good

Tampa Bay waters

Best window today 8-10 PM (54) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 8 AM (62) · 195 named spots

54Good

Western Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 7-9 PM (54) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 8 AM (59) · 23 named spots

52Good

Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (52) · Best day Sat, Sep 26 at 6 PM (65) · 131 named spots

51Good

Lake Okeechobee

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (51) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 AM (54) · 11 named spots

49Good

Coastal waters from Suwannee River to Keaton Beach out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (49) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 9 AM (62) · 20 named spots

48Good

Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8-11 PM (48) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 9 AM (67) · 81 named spots

46Good

Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (46) · Best day Wed, Sep 30 at 7 AM (64) · 49 named spots

40Fair

Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay

Best window today 7 PM-12 AM (45) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 8 AM (56) · 13 named spots

35Fair

Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35) · 199 named spots

35Fair

Biscayne Bay

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35) · 82 named spots

35Fair

Caribbean Waters of Puerto Rico from 10 NM to 17N, including the Coastal Waters of Saint Croix

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 PM (35)

35Fair

Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35) · 6 named spots

35Fair

Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35) · 109 named spots

35Fair

Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35) · 16 named spots

35Fair

Straits of Florida from Craig Key to west end of Seven Mile Bridge out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35)

35Fair

Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (35) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 12 AM (35)

33Fair

Mona Passage Southward to 17N

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (33) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 6 AM (35)

27Fair

Coastal Waters east of Puerto Rico, around Vieques, and around and just north of Culebra and Saint John

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (28) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 8 AM (35)

27Fair

Coastal Waters from Cabo San Juan to the waters between Anegada Island and Virgin Gorda and North 10 NM

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Thu, Sep 17 at 8 AM (35)

22Poor

Atlantic Waters of Puerto Rico AND USVI from 10 NM to 19.5N

Best window today 8-9 PM (22) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 6 PM (35)

18Poor

Anegada Passage east of Virgin Gorda and Saint Croix south to 17N

Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (18) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 6 PM (35)

How and where it feeds

Water temperature: Feeds from 68°F to 86°F, best between 70°F and 81°F.
Water depth: 15 to 250 ft of water.
Structure: Reef, wreck, ledge, pier, inlet, open water and bank, in that order of preference.
Tide and current: Prefers incoming tide and moving water, with moderate current.Near the beach and at pier ends, kings bite best when moving water pushes clean green water and bait along the shoreline and inlet mouths. Offshore, bait and current edges matter more than tide stage.
Light: Bites best around dawn and dusk.
Pressure: Little response to pressure changes.
Wind and sea limits: 20 kt of wind and 5 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.

Methods: slow trolling, trolling, drifting live bait, pier fishing, casting
Lures: spoons, deep-diving plugs, skirted duster rigs with ribbonfish, jigs
Bait: live menhaden, blue runners, cigar minnows, Spanish sardines, ribbonfish, ballyhoo, threadfin herring